1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lever-type connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lever-type connector with a moving plate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,833 and is shown in FIGS. 9 to 11 herein. The connector includes a male housing 101 that has a receptacle 102. A lever 103 is supported pivotally on the outer surface of the male housing 101, and a moving plate 104 is provided in the receptacle 102 for positioning male terminal fittings. A female housing 105 is fittable into the receptacle 102. Cam pins 106 of the female housing 105 and cam pins 108 on a surrounding wall 107 of the moving plate 104 engage cam grooves 109 of the lever 103 when the female housing 105 is fit lightly in the receptacle 102. The female housing 105 and the moving plate 104 are connected with the male connector housing 101 by pivoting the lever 103.
The cam pin 106 of the female connector housing 105 and the cam pin 108 of the moving plate 104 are united into one cam follower for engagement with the corresponding cam groove 109. Thus, notches 111 are formed in the surrounding wall 107 of the moving plate 104 for permitting the passage of the cam pins 106 of the female housing 105. The surrounding wall 107 of the moving plate 104 is split partly in two by the notches 111, and hence strength may be reduced. Further, the receptacle 102 is formed with escape grooves 112 for permitting the passage of the cam followers 110. The receptacle 102 also is split partly into two by the escape grooves 112, and hence may have a reduced strength.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to prevent a reduction in the strength of a receptacle of a connector housing and, preferably, also a moving plate.
The invention is direct to a lever-type connector that comprises first and second housings. The first housing includes a receptacle and a moving plate for positioning first terminal fittings in the receptacle. A lever is supported pivotally on the first housing and includes at least one cam groove. The second housing is fittable into the receptacle. At least one cam pin means is provided on the second housing and/or the moving plate. The cam pin means is adapted to pass into an escape groove of the receptacle for engagement with the cam groove in the lever. At least one rib is formed on the receptacle along or near the escape groove and extends substantially parallel with a moving direction of the moving plate. At least one bent portion is formed on the moving plate for receiving the rib. The rib ensures that the strength of the first housing is not jeopardized by the escape groove.
The rib is formed on the inner surface of the receptacle and the bent portion has a cross section bent to recess inwardly. The cross section is taken in a plane intersecting the moving direction at substantially right angles. The inwardly bent cross section of the bent portion preferably has U-shape so that a recess is formed for receiving and accommodating the rib. If a rib with a rectangular cross section is chosen, then the accommodating portion formed by the recess of the bent portion also has a rectangular cross section.
The bent portion preferably is formed on a surrounding wall of the moving plate that projects in the moving direction from the moving plate.
The cam pin means preferably comprise at least one cam pin on the moving plate for uniting with at least one cam pin on the second housing to form a cam follower that can engage the cam groove of the lever. The second housing and the moving plate preferably move as a single unit toward the first connector housing in response to pivoting the lever so that the first terminal fittings are connected with respective terminal fittings of the second housing.
The moving plate preferably has at least one notch for receiving the cam pin means and the bent portion is formed at least partly along or near the notch. The bent portion ensures that the notch does not weaken the moving plate. The notch preferably is formed on a surrounding wall of the moving plate and extends substantially in the moving direction.
A plurality of ribs and a plurality of bent portions may be formed and at least one ribs has a cross section differing from cross sections of the other ribs. The bent portions comprise accommodating portions for at least partly receiving the ribs therein, and at least one accommodating portion has a cross section differing from cross sections of the other accommodating portions. The cross sections of the accommodating portions correspond substantially to the cross sections of the respective ribs for at least partly receiving and accommodating the respective ribs therein. However, the cross sections prevent a reversed orientation of the ribs and the accommodating portions.
At least one of the thickness of the ribs and the projecting distance of the ribs from the inner surface of the receptacle is set to differ among the plurality of ribs. Similarly, the width and depth of the accommodating portions are set individually for the respective accommodating portions to correspond to the thickness and projecting distance of the ribs to be accommodated therein.
Thus, the moving plate can be mounted in the receptacle when oriented so that the ribs are accommodated in the specified accommodating portions. On the other hand, some of the ribs interfere with the bent portions and cannot be accommodated if the moving plate is oriented improperly. Thus, the moving plate cannot be mounted into the receptacle. In this way, the ribs and the bent portions prevent the moving plate from being mounted in the receptacle with an improper orientation.
Preferably, the first housing is a male housing, the first terminal fittings are male terminal fittings and the second housing is a female housing.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that even though embodiments are described separately, single features thereof may be combined to additional embodiments.